id=”article-body” class=”row” section=”article-body”> The move from old-style USB ports to the newer USB-C has had its share of growing pains. But the updated design is leading to a profusion of new products to charge your gadgets.

The biggest reason is that USB-C can charge both your phone and your laptop — and, increasingly, other things like Bluetooth wireless earbuds and MiFi portable hotspots.

That means one charger or one battery pack can be useful in a multitude of circumstances. No more do you need lots of different chargers for lots of different devices (goodbye, micro USB!), and if you’re on the go, you can move your laptop charging cable over to your phone and back to keep both batteries topped off.

“USB-C is a truly universal connector for data, power and video, and it works across all device platforms from Mac to PC, iOS to Android, smartphone to computers,” said Sanho Chief Executive Daniel Chin, whose company has aggressively pushed to take advantage of USB-C with a range of power and data accessories.

Another big USB-C benefit is that more powerful devices, like a laptop or a tablet, can charge smaller ones like smartphones, giving you a juice boost that may bail you out when you can’t find a power plug. With older USB devices, charging was a convenient afterthought useful only for phones, but the USB Power Delivery technology — you’ll often see “PD” on accessory boxes and port labeling — can reach up to 100W, enough for high-end laptops.

Now playing: Watch this: iPad Pro: Is it a computer now? 8:15 Of course, there are still problems moving from the earlier rectangular USB-A ports on PCs for two decades, and from the smaller USB Micro B ports. Older or cheaper devices often use older USB connectors, so we’re still a long way from one universal port. Airports, airplanes, hotels, cars and other charging locations rarely offer USB-C charging ports, so there you’ll need your charger and a power plug.

And iPhones and most iPads still use Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector. The 2018 iPad Pro models use USB-C, so perhaps future Apple products will be able to benefit from USB-C ubiquity, but Apple didn’t make the jump with its iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

For those who want to be part of the future, there are a range of USB type-C cable accessories that can help you make the switch from USB type-A to USB type-C. Here’s a look at some of the best USB C accessories I’ve been testing. The good news: Almost all of these USB devices and cables can be found on Amazon. A quick note though, I’m talking purely USB type-C cable charging, not data transfer, so we won’t be discussing transfer speeds, HDMI cable capabilities, SD card readers, if it has a microSD card slot or other such charger and cable matters.

Also, if you’re looking for USB-C PD adapters that are powerful enough to charge laptops? Check out out list of the best USB-C PD chargers of 2020.

Note: CNET may receive affiliate commissions from the products featured on this page.

Satechi Qi wireless charging pad
Stephen Shankland/CNET This thing is so much better than a traditional docking station. Satechi’s $40 Qi wireless charging pad will pump power to phones at 7.5W or 10W rates. It’s got a USB-C connection and a big plus shaped hub in case you had any trouble centering your phone on it.

See at Amazon Fuse Reels Side Kick
Stephen Shankland/CNET Fuse Reels’ $15 Side Kick is an adhesive pop-out spool that lets you wind your power cable out of the way when not in use. Even collapsed, it makes your power supply a bit thicker, which could be a problem on crowded power strips, but it’s handy for keeping things tidy in your backpack or bag if you need it for a quick charge.

See at Amazon Satechi 3.5mm audio and USB-C power adapter
Stephen Shankland/CNET This $25 Satechi adapter accepts both a USB type-C cable and 3.5mm audio cable. This headphone jack adapter is basic, but I find it handy in the office, where mostly what I’m plugging in is just my earbuds and power cord.

See at Amazon Lifepowr Car Charge-a-lot 60W charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET The Lifepowr Car Charge-a-lot will charge your laptop in your car with a 60W USB-C port, or just top off your phone or tablet battery faster than old-style USB ports. It’s also got an older USB type-A port and a second USB-C port that reaches 18W — enough to give an iPad Pro a quick charge. It costs $55 alone, and about $20 more with a charging cable or $30 more with the company’s stainless steel-wrapped USB-C charging and data cable.

See at Amazon Sanho HyperJuice 100W USB-C battery pack
Stephen Shankland/CNET The $299 Sanho HyperJuice 100W USB-C battery pack has a big 27,000mAh battery, enough to charge a 15-inch MacBook Pro at a fast 100W rate. It’s also got a second USB-C port for http://www.ohmstudio.com/users/camden978 60W charging and an 18W USB type-A port, all of which can be used at the same time. Or you can charge one device with the 60W port while charging the HyperJuice battery with its 100W port. Status LEDs on the front tell you how much charge is remaining or how far through charging it is.

See at Indiegogo Innergie 60C, a 60W USB-C charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET The $109 Innergie 60C, a 60W USB-C charger built by the same company that makes some of Apple’s own power adapters, packs a lot of power into a tall, thin package that squeezes nicely between other plugs on your power strip. It’s not cheap, but it’s smaller than Apple’s own charger. Its power prongs fold out of the way for easier transportation. It comes with a USB-C cable, too. At 60 watts, it’s got enough power for a 13-inch MacBook Pro, but I used it with no trouble for my 15-inch MacBook Pro that comes with Apple’s 87W charger. A $119 version comes with an adapter to work in US, UK and European outlets.

See at Amazon Aukey PA-Y18 Ultra-Compact 18W USB-C charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET The Aukey PA-Y18 Ultra-Compact 18W USB-C charger is a notably compact charger (you can thank new gallium nitride chipmaking technology for the size). It delivers 18W of power, and its power prongs snap back for easier travel. At $20, it’s a notch cheaper than Apple’s $29 competing model.

See at Amazon Fuse Reels’ $30 Side Winder
Stephen Shankland/CNET Fuse Reels’ $25 Side Winder snaps around your MacBook power adapter so you can wind up a 12-foot reach of cables into a tidy travel package. It’s got different shims to accommodate different sizes of power adapter — 45W, 60W, 61W, 85W and 87W, but not the 29W charger for the smaller MacBooks — and it’s not hard to put together. You can spool up the full length of your power cord by twisting the inner grip and unspool it just by pulling the cable ends apart.

I had occasional jamming issues but found it handy running from room to room at a tech conference: twist and spool, toss in backpack, scurry to next room, unspool and plug in. It includes a necessary, specially angled USB-C cable that reaches from the Side Winder to your Mac. I found it suffered from a bad connection at times, even after one replacement, but Fuse Reels is working on a sturdier connector.

See at Amazon Aukey’s PB-Y13 battery pack
Stephen Shankland/CNET Aukey’s $25 PB-Y13 battery pack is a 10,000mAh USB-C power pack about the size of a large phone that’s good for keeping your phone going longer on a busy day, getting more time on your Nintendo Switch game console or even giving you boosting your USB-C laptop. Small LED status lights on the edge tell you how depleted the battery is.

See at Amazon Lifepowr Sun20C solar panel
Stephen Shankland/CNET The $119 Lifepowr Sun20C is a portable solar panel that can charge devices directly or charge a battery that you can later use to charge your devices. It’s got USB-C and USB-A ports but also comes with a cable including a variety of plugs for old-school laptop charging. The sun provides free power, but don’t expect this to run a power-hungry device.

It took 40 minutes in direct sunlight to get my iPhone XS Max from 91 percent to fully charged, and my Google Pixel 3 seemed reluctant to charge beyond 95 percent. My power-sucking MacBook Pro, which comes with an 87W charger, wouldn’t charge off the panel directly, but a battery intermediary worked fine.

The Sun20C works best if you micromanage it to face directly toward the sun. You can also hook multiple panels together for more juice. It snaps closed for protection during travel and has grommets so you can lash it to trees, backpacks or buildings.

See at Amazon Apple 18W USB-C power adapter
Stephen Shankland/CNET Apple’s 18W USB-C power adapter isn’t cheap at $29, but it’s a clean, solid adapter design that’s good for charging tablets, phones and other smaller devices. With Apple’s $19 USB-C to Lightning cable — expensive, given that no third-party cable makers sell that type, by the way — you can charge your iPhone fast, too.

See at Apple Zendure Passport Pro travel adapter with 18W USB-C charging port
Stephen Shankland/CNET The $35 Zendure Passport Pro travel adapter looks like many similar converters that ease international travel, but this adapter has an 18W USB-C charging port alongside three old-style USB-A charging ports, too. That means you can plug in your laptop while you’ve got the family’s phones charging. The power converter side of things can plug into US, UK, European, Australian and many other countries’ wall sockets, and you can likewise stick an equally broad range of plugs into it. If the adapter draws too much power, it’s got a circuit breaker that’ll trip and a one-touch button to reset it immediately. The 18W USB-C port is nice, but if you’re using it to charge your iPhone fast, you’ll need Apple’s $19 USB-C to USB Lightning cable, because no third parties sell that type of USB cable.

See at Indiegogo Aukey PA-Y13 46W USB-C Charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET The Aukey PA-Y13 46W USB-C Charger will charge even a top-end MacBook pro, though its 46W USB-C port won’t do it as fast as Apple’s 87W charger. But unlike Apple’s chargers, you can also plug in devices using regular and quick-charge USB-A ports. It includes a cable to plug it into the wall.

See at Amazon Lifepowr’s USB-C cable, “the Beast”
Stephen Shankland/CNET Lifepowr’s USB-C cable, called “the Beast,” is wrapped in a stainless steel housing for durability. It handles both high-speed data transfer — USB 3.1 at up to 10Gbps — and high-power charging but costs $32. I was terrified its flexing coils would catch an arm hair and give it a painful pluck, but I didn’t have any problems. 

See at Amazon Aukey’s CC-Y7 27W USB-C car charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET Aukey’s CC-Y7 27W USB-C car charger, at $20, is useful for charging phones, tablets, power packs and small laptops with 27-watt output from USB-C alongside an old-style USB-A charging port. It’s even up to charging a big MacBook Pro, albeit slowly, the company said. The USB-A port is equipped with the company’s AiPower adaptive charging technology, designed to figure out the best charging rate possible.

See at Amazon Sanho’s HyperJuice Dual 87W USB-C charger
Stephen Shankland/CNET Sanho’s HyperJuice Dual 87W USB-C charger is strong enough to charge a big MacBook Pro with 87 watts of output. It’s got two USB-C ports and a USB-A alongside it. It can charge three devices at once, but with a total power limit of 87 watts. It costs $60, a notch cheaper than Apple’s 87W charger. It comes with a cord to plug it into the wall but not a USB-C cord to reach your laptop.

See at Amazon Lifepowr A3 USB-C battery pack
Stephen Shankland/CNET The $250 Lifepowr A3 USB-C battery pack has a 27,000mAh battery and can power a MacBook Pro at a beefy 87 watts over its USB-C port. It’s also got two USB-A ports. Surprisingly, it’s got a standard US power plug on the back, too, so you can use it as an uninterruptible power supply as long as you have a USB-C charger plugged into the other side. It comes in a cloth bag to cut down on the banging and scratching during travel, but the bag covers up the LED status lights on the outside.

See at Lifepowr Originally published December 2018 and updated in October of 2019 and January 2020.

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